diff --git a/client/src/pages/Workspace.tsx b/client/src/pages/Workspace.tsx
index d720680e..f8000406 100644
--- a/client/src/pages/Workspace.tsx
+++ b/client/src/pages/Workspace.tsx
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
  * @file Workspace.tsx
  * @description Merged workspace page combining lanes (agent work units) and runs
  * (CLI spawns: Claude Code or Codex, determined per lane). Displays a horizontal
- * lane strip at the top with counters, the selected lane's pipeline map, and run
- * configuration/console/history below. Runs are tied to lanes: starting a run
+ * lane strip at the top (its first tile creates a lane), the selected lane's
+ * pipeline map, and run configuration/console/history below. Runs are tied to lanes: starting a run
  * posts to POST /api/lanes/:id/start with tool-appropriate fields. When a cwd
  * isn't owned by any lane, calls POST /api/lanes/ensure first. Polls GET
  * /api/sessions?status=active alongside the run list so Claude Code sessions
@@ -45,15 +45,7 @@ import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { Plus, Square, Columns2, Grid2x2 } from "lucide-react";
 import { api } from "../lib/api";
 import type { CwdSuggestion, RunListResponse } from "../lib/api";
-import type {
-  Lane,
-  LaneFeature,
-  LaneCounts,
-  ProofFeature,
-  Session,
-  WSMessage,
-  LaneTool,
-} from "../lib/types";
+import type { Lane, LaneFeature, ProofFeature, Session, WSMessage, LaneTool } from "../lib/types";
 import { eventBus } from "../lib/eventBus";
 import { keepIfSame } from "../lib/keepIfSame";
 import { LaneConsolePane } from "../components/run/LaneConsolePane";
@@ -203,7 +195,6 @@ export function Workspace() {
 
   // Lane state
   const [lanes, setLanes] = useState<Lane[]>([]);
-  const [counts, setCounts] = useState<LaneCounts>({ total: 0, running: 0, needs_you: 0, dead: 0 });
   const [selectedLaneId, setSelectedLaneId] = useState<number | null>(null);
   const [laneActionError, setLaneActionError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [addLaneOpen, setAddLaneOpen] = useState(false);
@@ -263,7 +254,6 @@ export function Workspace() {
     try {
       const r = await api.lanes.list();
       setLanes(keepIfSame(r.lanes));
-      setCounts(keepIfSame(r.counts));
       setSelectedLaneId((cur) =>
         cur !== null && r.lanes.some((l) => l.id === cur) ? cur : (r.lanes[0]?.id ?? null)
       );
@@ -515,60 +505,25 @@ export function Workspace() {
           : "space-y-5"
       }
     >
-      {/* Page header: what this screen is, and the four numbers that say
-          whether anything needs a human right now. */}
-      <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-3 border-b border-border pb-3">
-        <h2 className="text-base font-semibold tracking-tight text-fg-primary">
-          {tLanes("title")}
-        </h2>
-        <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-1.5 text-xs">
-          <span
-            data-testid="count-total"
-            className="rounded-full bg-surface-2 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-fg-secondary"
-          >
-            {counts.total} {tLanes("countTotal")}
-          </span>
-          <span
-            data-testid="count-running"
-            className="rounded-full bg-blue-600/20 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-blue-400"
-          >
-            {counts.running} {tLanes("countRunning")}
-          </span>
-          {counts.needs_you > 0 && (
-            <span
-              data-testid="count-needs-you"
-              className="rounded-full bg-status-warning/20 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-status-warning"
-            >
-              {counts.needs_you} {tLanes("countNeedsYou")}
-            </span>
-          )}
-          {counts.dead > 0 && (
-            <span
-              data-testid="count-dead"
-              className="rounded-full bg-status-danger/20 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-status-danger"
-            >
-              {counts.dead} {tLanes("countDead")}
-            </span>
-          )}
-        </div>
-        <div className="ml-auto flex items-center gap-2">
-          {currentLane && <LaneToolsMenu lane={currentLane} />}
-          <button
-            onClick={() => setAddLaneOpen(true)}
-            className="flex items-center gap-1.5 rounded border border-border-light px-3 py-1 text-xs text-fg-secondary transition-colors hover:border-border-light hover:text-fg-primary"
-            title={tLanes("addLane")}
-          >
-            <Plus className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
-            {tLanes("add")}
-          </button>
-        </div>
-      </div>
-
       {/* Lane strip + detail stack vertically: the strip is a horizontally
           scrolling row (holds any number of lanes), the detail/console area
           below it gets the full width and never competes for it. */}
       <div className="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col gap-4">
         <div data-testid="lane-strip" className="flex shrink-0 flex-row gap-2 overflow-x-auto pb-1">
+          {/* "Add lane" is a tile in the strip rather than a header button:
+              creating a lane is the same kind of act as picking one, so it
+              reads as the empty slot at the head of the row. Dashed border and
+              no liveness dot keep it from being mistaken for a lane. */}
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            data-testid="lane-tile-add"
+            onClick={() => setAddLaneOpen(true)}
+            title={tLanes("addLane")}
+            className="flex w-56 shrink-0 items-center justify-center gap-1.5 rounded-lg border border-dashed border-border-light p-3 text-[13px] font-medium text-fg-secondary transition-colors hover:border-accent hover:bg-accent/5 hover:text-fg-primary"
+          >
+            <Plus className="h-4 w-4" />
+            {tLanes("add")}
+          </button>
           {lanes.map((l) => (
             <LaneStripCard
               key={l.id}
@@ -690,6 +645,9 @@ export function Workspace() {
                 </>
               )}
               <div className="ml-auto flex items-center gap-2">
+                {/* Per-lane actions (agents install, mcp sync, sync-base check)
+                    belong beside the lane they act on, not in a page header. */}
+                <LaneToolsMenu lane={currentLane} />
                 <button
                   type="button"
                   data-testid="lane-detail-toggle"
diff --git a/client/src/pages/__tests__/Workspace.test.tsx b/client/src/pages/__tests__/Workspace.test.tsx
index e1cbbec9..7818442b 100644
--- a/client/src/pages/__tests__/Workspace.test.tsx
+++ b/client/src/pages/__tests__/Workspace.test.tsx
@@ -328,19 +328,11 @@ afterEach(() => {
 });
 
 describe("Workspace page — lane integration", () => {
-  it("lane strip lists lanes and counters match the API response", async () => {
+  it("lane strip lists the lanes the API returned", async () => {
     await renderWorkspace();
 
-    // Verify lanes are rendered
     expect(screen.getByTestId("lane-tile-1").textContent).toContain("Lane A");
     expect(screen.getByTestId("lane-tile-2").textContent).toContain("Lane B");
-
-    // Verify counters are rendered with correct values
-    const counterTexts = screen.getAllByText((_, element) => {
-      if (!element) return false;
-      return element.textContent?.includes("2 lanes") || false;
-    });
-    expect(counterTexts.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
 
   it("selecting a lane switches the pipeline and run id", async () => {
@@ -497,22 +489,16 @@ describe("Workspace page — lane integration", () => {
 });
 
 describe("Workspace layout", () => {
-  it("shows the four counters with the values the API reported", async () => {
-    countsToReturn = { total: 2, running: 1, needs_you: 3, dead: 4 };
+  it("opens the add-lane modal from the strip's first tile", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
     await renderWorkspace();
 
-    expect(screen.getByTestId("count-total").textContent).toContain("2");
-    expect(screen.getByTestId("count-running").textContent).toContain("1");
-    expect(screen.getByTestId("count-needs-you").textContent).toContain("3");
-    expect(screen.getByTestId("count-dead").textContent).toContain("4");
-  });
+    // The tile leads the strip, so it is reachable without scrolling past lanes.
+    const strip = screen.getByTestId("lane-strip");
+    expect(strip.firstElementChild).toBe(screen.getByTestId("lane-tile-add"));
 
-  it("hides the needs-you and dead counters when they are zero", async () => {
-    countsToReturn = { total: 2, running: 1, needs_you: 0, dead: 0 };
-    await renderWorkspace();
-
-    expect(screen.queryByTestId("count-needs-you")).toBeNull();
-    expect(screen.queryByTestId("count-dead")).toBeNull();
+    await user.click(screen.getByTestId("lane-tile-add"));
+    expect(await screen.findByText("Create a lane from a working directory")).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
   it("gives every lane a tile in the carousel", async () => {
diff --git a/client/src/pages/__tests__/__snapshots__/screens.snapshot.test.tsx.snap b/client/src/pages/__tests__/__snapshots__/screens.snapshot.test.tsx.snap
index 2c0856c4..65292c8e 100644
--- a/client/src/pages/__tests__/__snapshots__/screens.snapshot.test.tsx.snap
+++ b/client/src/pages/__tests__/__snapshots__/screens.snapshot.test.tsx.snap
@@ -5097,42 +5097,20 @@ exports[`screen snapshots > Run 1`] = `
     class="space-y-5"
   >
     <div
-      class="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-3 border-b border-border pb-3"
+      class="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col gap-4"
     >
-      <h2
-        class="text-base font-semibold tracking-tight text-fg-primary"
-      >
-        Lanes
-      </h2>
       <div
-        class="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-1.5 text-xs"
-      >
-        <span
-          class="rounded-full bg-surface-2 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-fg-secondary"
-          data-testid="count-total"
-        >
-          0
-           
-          lanes
-        </span>
-        <span
-          class="rounded-full bg-blue-600/20 px-2.5 py-0.5 text-blue-400"
-          data-testid="count-running"
-        >
-          0
-           
-          running
-        </span>
-      </div>
-      <div
-        class="ml-auto flex items-center gap-2"
+        class="flex shrink-0 flex-row gap-2 overflow-x-auto pb-1"
+        data-testid="lane-strip"
       >
         <button
-          class="flex items-center gap-1.5 rounded border border-border-light px-3 py-1 text-xs text-fg-secondary transition-colors hover:border-border-light hover:text-fg-primary"
+          class="flex w-56 shrink-0 items-center justify-center gap-1.5 rounded-lg border border-dashed border-border-light p-3 text-[13px] font-medium text-fg-secondary transition-colors hover:border-accent hover:bg-accent/5 hover:text-fg-primary"
+          data-testid="lane-tile-add"
           title="Create a lane from a working directory"
+          type="button"
         >
           <svg
-            class="lucide lucide-plus h-3.5 w-3.5"
+            class="lucide lucide-plus h-4 w-4"
             fill="none"
             height="24"
             stroke="currentColor"
@@ -5152,15 +5130,6 @@ exports[`screen snapshots > Run 1`] = `
           </svg>
           Add lane
         </button>
-      </div>
-    </div>
-    <div
-      class="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col gap-4"
-    >
-      <div
-        class="flex shrink-0 flex-row gap-2 overflow-x-auto pb-1"
-        data-testid="lane-strip"
-      >
         <p
           class="text-sm text-fg-muted"
         >